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This is the last sketch from my recent driving trip. After my youngest daughter joined me for the last week of my trip I did not set aside much time to sketch. On my last day in Charleston I walked the Battery area looking for manageable subjects. The houses there are beautiful, majestic and complex. I wanted to capture the feeling but didn’t have time for anything too large or impressive. AND I wanted a house shaded by trees and decorated with sunlight dancing through dappled green.

My sketch was done with my watercolor pencils and crayons using a small brush (probably a #4) on a 6 inch X 8 inch watercolor sketchbook. And, unlike my earlier sketches, I used an ink pen to outline shapes since the sketch is so busy. This paper is heavy but I can’t work too wet or the surface “pills” and becomes hard to work with. I hope you can feel the sunshine! Its rainy in Indianapolis now and I could use a big dose of sunshine and warmth!

Last Sunday I returned from a driving trip to the American South. I started In Lexington, Kentucky, next visited Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, then on to Charleston, South Carolina and finished in Asheville, North Carolina. It was an interesting and educational look at history, culture, natural environments and my personality. I was able to maintain a relaxed, adaptable approach to my trip (not really my type A norm). I loved the experience and was contented and able to enjoy what could have been a very stressful two weeks.

I have a new sketch for you. I did this sketch at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The Gardens are remarkable and they have a large woodlands area that I would like to explore further. One focal point is a sculpture made from living plants called the Earth Goddess. It is a huge bust of a beautiful woman with her hand extended and water flowing from it. In April the plants are tan, beige, light green but I understand that the Earth Goddess is very colorful later in the year. I loved it. I did a quick sketch and then touch-up later in my room. The foliage was very complex and challenging in this garden. Again I worked with watercolor pencil and later watercolor crayon on a small watercolor sketchbook. I hope you enjoy.

I just spent a week in Atlanta. It was a wonderful week. I didn’t even get frustrated with the traffic and crowds both of which were HEAVY!!!!! One of the highlights was my visit to Zoo Atlanta and their amazing giant pandas. They have two adults and their funny, furry, fascinating 11 week old cubs. The Mom and cubs are together and Dad is in a separate enclosure (he was pacing and tumbling and rolling). I did a quick sketch of Mom munching away on bamboo. I used my watercolor crayons and a small brush. It was very quick and spontaneous. FUN!

On Sunday I had a fabulous day. I visited the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY and loved it. We had beautiful weather and I was able to wander the grounds to see all of the magnificent horses at my leisure. I saw the Parade of Champions (included Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses and Standardbreds). All had won many races, were housed in lush quarters and were made available to see and touch. I also saw the Breed’s Show and was amazed by some of what I saw. The show included 3 breeds I have never encountered. One was America’s one and only draft horse. They are called the American Cream Draft and are a beautiful rich creamy color. There are only about three hundred in the world. Once again we were able to get up close and personal with the horses. It was wonderful to see how gentle the horses were with very small children.

I also took an hour long trail ride that allowed me to go back into the farm, riding around the large paddocks and fields and seeing the horses that were not on display. I had my sketchbook with me and was able to start a sketch that I finished later. I had my Caran d’Ache watercolor crayons with me and used them to fill in the color in my sketch. Much less messy than my watercolor paints. Hope you enjoy!

Rubens used oil sketches of this type to gain final approval before doing large commissioned pieces. This sketch was made for a series of tapestries covering the career of the Emperor Constantine and sponsored by the French king Louis XIII who presented the first seven tapestries (including this one) to Cardinal Barberini. A sketch like this is very special because it is entirely by the master’s hand unlike most of his finished paintings that were prepared from sketches by artists in his workshop. Rubens was a fair man and kept meticulous records charging based on his own contribution to a work of art.

An interesting question came up during the session. One of the attendees asked why Rubens gave Constantine red hair. I thought that was a very interesting question and did
some research.

Apparently a large portion of the Hellenic and Roman nobility originated from
Northern Europe. The most beautiful women and bravest men were frequently
depicted as having fair skin and blond or reddish-brown hair. Cicero the great
Roman orator is said to have had grayish-green eyes and red hair. The term “blue
bloods” comes from the bluish veins showing through fair skin and started during
the ancient era. Homer sings praises to the light-haired Achaean nobility:
Achilles, their greatest warrior, has “red-gold hair,” Odysseus, their greatest
strategist, has “chestnut hair,” his wife Penelope has “white cheeks the color
of pure snow,” Agamede, a healer and expert on medicinal plants, is “blonde,”
and King Menelaus of Sparta, the husband of Helen, has “red hair.”

Interestingly this is supported by paint samples removed from ancient sculpture
and by the facial features seen in ancient statues of many great beauties and
important men. It seems reasonable that Constantine might actually have had
reddish hair or that Rubens, with his classical knowledge and collection of
ancient busts and statutes, may have colored Constantine’s hair reddish-brown to
link him to other conquering heroes and famous warriors.

Late in his live Constantine lived a life more indulgent and had wigs in several
colors that he wore with richly colored silk robes.

Second tour for the week is today. I am a docent at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the museum includes, as its largest work of art, the Lilly House. The Oldfields estate, which includes the house is part of the Country House type and was donated by the children of J K Lilly Jr (Lilly Pharmaceuticals family) to the Art Association of Indianapolis in the late 1960’s. The Association had outgrown its museum and needed a space to build a new museum. The bequest included 52 acres and an intact house with many rooms still furnished as they had been when the family lived in the house. What a gift!

Today the Lilly House is a National Historic Landmark and a group of dedicated docents do tours at the house. My tour today is for a group of high school students that are home schooled. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to share information about the architecture, furnishings, families (2) that built and lived in the home, and the history of the period and of Indianapolis. The photo below shows the front of the home and some of the surrounding landscape. Today Spring in Bloom is underway and the grounds are graced with over 250,000 blooming bulbs.

My week has been busy preparing for tours at the Indianapolis Museum of Art where I am a docent.

I will be doing three different tours this week and they are back to back on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My Saturday tour is a Closer Look experience. I facilitate an hour long discussion using only one painting. It is not a lecture. I facilitate and keep the discussion moving forward by asking questions. It is like driving somewhere without a map or information about rest stops and food and gas stops. Only the person sitting beside you knows where you will be heading. As you can guess this requires ALOT of preparation but I love it. Today I am doing “Impressionism and Beyond”. Love that tour too! Here is one of the paintings I will be using. It is in the permanent collection of the IMA.